FFXII: What's the verdict?

[SlorgNet]

Final Fantasy 12: GREATEST. FINAL. FANTASY. EVER.

See, lots of people want their role-playing games filled with females with Montana-sized mammary glands, 15-year-old guys with Sword Issues, tacky teen romances written like self-help books, and Evil Father Figure Villains. I play bubblegum games too, they can be fun -- FF10 is a typical example -- but games can be much, much more than bubble gum.

So why do so many people hate FF12? Simple: it smashes every single convention of every JPRG, as well as most of the cliches of US and European RPGs.

It's also one of the most anti-imperialist videogames you'll ever play.

That's frightening to lots of people. Especially in the US, because this place is in deep denial over its collapsing Empire.

FF12 has a tremendous story, and some of the best characters ever created in any work of media -- film, TV, you name it. (I spend lots of time analyzing film, television, and media productions. FF12 stands up to the best of the best). It has three independent, strong women characters, who are as tough as the men. No bimbos, just complex people. It has breathtaking scenery and set design. It has a clever real-time battle system, making you feel like you're actually in the game world.

It has one of the deepest stories of any FF game, including geopolitics galore. The references to colonialism and neocolonialism are accurate and astounding. (Hints: Archades = US Empire, nethicite = Tolkien's Ring of Power, and Dalmasca = occupied Iraq. Oh hell yes.) It has the best voice-acting of any game, period. It has a ton of quite subtle and adult character development. It has the first credible interracial romance I've seen in any blockbuster media production (Fran and Balthier).

So give FF12 a try. You may not like it, but I guarantee, it's one of the few games you'll ever return to, many years from now, and find yourself stunned at just how amazing it truly is.